Reasons to believe the Vietnamese national team will win.

To date, in our encounters with the Indonesian national team, we have lost more than we have won. In 22 matches, we have only won 5, drawn 8, and lost 9. For over a decade, we haven't won a single match away from the Gelora Bung Karno stadium. But now, things are moving in a different direction.

The "cauldron" of the archipelago has cooled down.

First of all, for security reasons, the match between the Indonesian national team and the Vietnamese national team will be held at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, which has a capacity of 23,000 spectators, instead of the "cauldron" Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, which has a capacity of 80,000 people.

In fact, under coach McMenemy, the Indonesian national team no longer enjoys the same passionate support from fans as before. While over 54,000 spectators attended the match against Malaysia to cheer on Simon McMenemy's team, only about 11,000 fans showed up in the stands to support Indonesia when they played Thailand later.

Coach Park will increase his winning streak to 30 matches in his 51st stint as head coach of the national team. Photo: VFF

"Consecutive defeats at home may make Indonesian fans disillusioned with the team. This will be an advantage for the Vietnamese team. They no longer have to worry about receiving an unfriendly welcome from overzealous fans in Bali," Bola newspaper commented.

After three defeats, experts believe the biggest weakness of the home team is their lack of game organization and player fitness. In all three matches, the Indonesian players showed they are not a highly disciplined team. Quite a few players moved haphazardly, causing coach McMenemy on the sidelines to shout at them.

Many defensive positions frequently showed a lack of concentration, leading to goals being conceded. Poor physical condition meant many Indonesian players were not actively moving in the second half, and often conceded goals at this time.

The Indonesian national team's defense was shaky, with the central defenders failing to provide adequate cover for each other. Meanwhile, the full-backs often pushed forward, leaving many gaps for the opponent to exploit. This is a persistent weakness of the Garuda, while the Vietnamese national team has a dangerous attacking threat down the flanks thanks to players like Quang Hai, Van Toan, and Trong Hoang.

Both Indonesian national team goalkeepers, Andritany Ardhiyasa and Henry Hendrawan, are currently out of form. Due to poor performances in the two losses against Malaysia and Thailand, Andritany lost his position to Hendrawan. However, in the match against the UAE, Hendrawan also made numerous individual errors, leading to Indonesia's 0-5 defeat.

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Coach McMenemy himself commented: “The Vietnamese team of the 2010s was quite predictable despite playing fast and short passes. But now, Vietnam is a young, very strong team and hasn't conceded a single goal after two matches. I think they have a lot of experience now. I feel they are fearless; they are a top team.”

Indonesian players possess techniques well-suited to short passing, but coach McMenemy advocates a long-ball style of play. Photo: Bola

Indonesian players possess techniques well-suited to short-passing football like the Spanish and Portuguese national teams, but coach McMenemy is heavily influenced by English football, which is characterized by long passes.

The faint hope of Indonesian home fans is that coach Simon McMenemy is not a stranger to Vietnamese football. In 2010, this coach led the Philippines national team to a 2-0 victory over Henrique Calisto's team at My Dinh Stadium in the group stage of the 2010 AFF Cup.

Upon returning to Bali, coach Simon McMenemy called up the 1.88m tall Brazilian-born naturalized defender Otavio Dutra to strengthen the defense and contribute to aerial attacks. But will that be enough to prevent them from suffering a defeat at home?